Bauer Transit, a local corporate shuttle service, has commuters attach their bikes to racks on the rear of their busses.
This always alarmed me because it increased the danger factor of attaching and detaching your bicycle. The straps were always precariously worn down. This Wednesday the 18th, however, the straps were just fine. I ride the shuttle a few miles from downtown Mountain View to the Mission College Yahoo! Campus. Unfortunately this Wednesday my bike was not there when we arrived.
The driver had missed an exit and we must have clover-leafed quite a bit. I kept looking out the window and not recognizing the familiar things that dot Highway 101. Amidst this maneuvering and correcting turns, the securely fastened straps must have loosened.
The bike racks are similar to ones that you would install on a trailer hitch. Normally they are fine, and you can strap them down, and of course you are keeping an eye on them. On a corporate shuttle there is no way to see the bike unless you use a video camera – whose screen was not turned on.
When we arrived to Mission College, I no longer had a bike. I did the math, about $1100 went into that bike, and that’s not a high end bike by any means – it’s just my ride to work.
The driver graciously offered to look for the bike, and an hour later he brought it to me, after it had been run over. It suffered very little damage that I could tell, but upon further inspection by a local bike shop, the frame was as the shop owner said, “totalled.”
I hate spending money as it is – and I hate it when my trust gets violated. I’ve told Bauer and Yahoo! that our shuttle racks are unsafe and should be replaced with front-racks as you would find on busses. I always received “no” as an answer.
I put together a list of all the non salvageable items and will see if I can get Bauer to cover my costs (even the brand new 8-speed hub I added, was not worth salvaging 
). Then there’s the bike-attachment issues. I really like my bike – the way people really like their cars. I’ve had this for two and a half years, and I’ve liked it since.
In the mean time, I’m looking for a new bike. Looking at Dahon’s folding bikes. They seem to match my commuting needs. I think I can get a Vitesse D7HG for a fraction of what I put into my Breezer. The cost still hurts – bankrupt economy or not.
Update: Bauer gave me a check on April 28th, after I made a request a month back and following up with the workplace team at Yahoo! I used this money to help purchase a Bike Friday Season Tikit.
[tags]flat, biking[/tags]
I used to/still have a cavalier attitude toward flats. I figured when/if I get one, I’ll lockup and bus home, or walk.
Yesterday, in 80+ degree heat, I chose walk… I went a mile to the Dunn Bros coffee shop cooled down and went a mile to get home.
Despite better judgement I fixed my flat when I got home in my very warm garage. With the right tools fixing a flat is easy, but the pouch I carry… is missing a lot… namely a wrench to undo the wheels and a pump.
Here’s a tip for flats:
Place the nipple for your tube in the middle of the “INFLATE TO x-y PSI” this can be a frame of reference to find out where your tire was penetrated. Once I found the leak on the tube (conveniently on the opposite side of the tube from the nipple), I found on my tire some tiny orange glass or plastic that had sliced into my tire.
We’ll see how well my patching is. Time to buy me a wrench and a pump 
I think I now have more shoes than my wife. I just bought some Shimano’s biking shoes, bringing my total pairs of shoes up to 7:
- Nunn Bush Dress Shoes: These are the shoes my brother suggested I get as dress shoes. They are dressy, but they are also comfortable for walking. I’ve had them forever, and wear them the least.
- Black shoes with some red: These were some laceless shoes that I used to wear regularly. Now they are dirty and I use them for working around the house.
- Semi-casual black shoes with zippers: These shoes are/were my daily work shoes. They aren’t dress shoes, but they are black so they work for going to the office.
- AVIA tennis/running shoes: These are an inexpensive pair of shoes I bought last year, when I wanted something sportier than my zipper shoes. They’ve been real nice for biking (using toe-clips), and I liked wearing them around the office.
- Brown sandals from India: These are the sandals I wore at my engagement ceremony and wedding and now they are my lounging shoes.
- Even dressier shoes: These were another cheap pair from India (actually the sandals were somewhat expensive). I got them because they were cheap. I plan on leaving these at my office.
- My Shimano SH-MT20 shoes: I took the plunge and bought some Shimano shoes and clip-less pedals.
No, I’m not a shoe-junkie. I really just need the pair of shoes that I can use for working around the house, the biking shoes, and the dress shoes. But now I have a whole bucket of choices for a while. I might store some of them for a while.
I picked up my new bike Wednesday night from Jim at Hiawatha Cyclery courtesy of my friend Jason dropping me off at the shop. Well, I’m glad I have a commuter worthy bike. Between the time my bike got stolen and today, I had 100 excuses not to ride, 100 reasons to be somewhere, and a 100 bikes on hand to use or borrow. What I really wanted was my Trek, and I was hurting pretty bad. I think this Breezer will fill the role nicely.
Most people I know, don’t bike as much as I do – or rather, don’t bike as their primary means of transportation. Here’s what I had at my disposal. Included were reasons I didn’t want to ride them:
- Huffy Mt. Bike: This was set for winter mode, and I really didn’t want to ride a mountain bike around town in the summer… not one that’s so heavy.
- Huffy Beach Cruiser: Had to install a bike rack so it was commuter worthy. Can’t really bike to work without a rack.
- Katie’s Bike: I rode it once into work. It’s setup properly, but the dimensions aren’t for me.
- Coworker’s Specialized Road Bike: Felt too expensive… I’m not used to road-bikes. Not a commuting bike, etc, etc.
- Cannondale F400: This is a pretty sweet, light mountain bike that my brother found. It’s small, it’s a woman’s bike, it’s not set for commuting and needed a lot of work. But it was an interesting find. Might turn that into a hybrid for Katie if I can figure it out.
I’m sure there were more offers, but most people don’t have commuting bikes. They either have mountain bikes, or road bikes, but nothing well suited for commuting, even though a lot of bikes get repurposed for just that. So it’s no wonder why I’m the first person to pick up the nerdy looking Breezer from Hiawatha Cyclery.
more…
